Circuit Court Judge William Goodman III asks the jury to raise their hands to verify they have not talked about or researched the case overnight before trial resumes Wednesday in the case of Samson Peltier who opened fire on another vehicle after a fender bender in 2015. Stephanie Ingersoll

Christopher Williams watches as a jury goes out to begin deliberations in the case of Samson Peltier, an off-duty reserve officer who worked for the MCSO, when he opened fire on Williams' Jeep after a fender bender on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard. Stephanie Ingersoll

While the court cases had many differences, at the heart of both is the same question: When is it OK for a law enforcement officer to use deadly force?

Was it a 'good shoot'?

Peltier, 48, recently stood trial in Montgomery County on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in the July 2, 2015, shooting of Christopher Williams after a fender bender on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard in Clarksville.

Williams was shot at about 8:40 p.m. after he rear-ended Peltier's pickup in front of a Verizon store, across from Walmart, and then moved his Jeep after Peltier told him to stay put until Clarksville police arrived.

At the time an off-duty reserve officer for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Peltier said he was defending his life after Williams tried to flee the crash, swerved his car at him, backed up as if to hit him and then drove recklessly away. Peltier said he also feared for the safety of others on the road.

Those elements were all needed to make it a "good shoot," as court experts and several other officers testified at his trial in November. But he fired eight rounds while standing on the roadway, most of the shots hitting the back of Williams' Jeep from behind as it headed toward Interstate 24.

Williams testified too and said he never intended to flee the scene, didn't strike or try to strike Peltier with his Jeep and wasn't drunk. It was his word against an officer's, and he said he only fled because Peltier started shooting when he tried to move his car into a parking lot to get out of traffic.

Had the incident happened before 1985, the case might never have made it to court. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Tennessee v. Garner changed not only Tennessee law but the standards of the entire nation regarding when it's acceptable for police to use deadly force.

What was once a 'good shoot' now gone

Edward Garner was only 15 years old when he was shot by a Memphis police officer on Oct. 3, 1974. The eighth-grader had $10 and a purse that was stolen from a nearby home, but his real crime was trying to climb over a chain link fence to get away after a police officer spotted him and ordered him to halt.

The officer was "reasonably sure" the slender teen was unarmed, but at the time Tennessee law required that an officer use all means available to apprehend a fleeing felon, according to U.S. Supreme Court documents. That included using deadly force as a last resort to keep the Memphis teenager from getting away.

The shooting was considered justified for years, and the officer was never charged. But Garner's father was determined to change the system, and, after more than a decade of legal wrangling, the case was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled 6-3 that the Tennessee law that allowed police to shoot fleeing suspects in possible felonies for any reason was unconstitutional.

"It is not better that all felony suspects die than that they escape," wrote Justice Byron R. White for the court. "Where the suspect poses no immediate threat to the officer and no threat to others, the harm resulting from failing to apprehend him does not justify the use of deadly force to do so."

The March 28, 1985, edition of The Tennessean shows reaction from law enforcement and civil rights leaders after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Tennessee v. Garner that police can't shoot any felony suspect for attempting to flee.(Photo: The Tennessean)

Which was this?

Several Clarksville police officers and MCSO deputies took the stand during Peltier's trial, and many were asked the same question.

"Would you have taken the shot?" asked Assistant District Attorney Lee Willoughby.

Others agreed, while some declined to answer, saying they were not there, didn't know if Peltier's life was truly in danger or if he thought it was.

Was the public more at risk from Williams' getting away or from Peltier's bullets?

Peltier insisted the roadway that night was not busy and he said a police report that listed traffic as low to moderate was later changed by someone to say "highly congested."

If Peltier feared for his safety and the safety of others, was that justification enough to use deadly force?

Defense witness Greg Hopkins, who was certified in court as an expert in the field of police training in firearms, said it would be.

Greg Hopkins, an expert in firearms training, talks to a jury about what elements must be present to justify using deadly force when a suspect flees.(Photo: Stephanie Ingersoll)

Hopkins is a former judge from Alabama, was trained as a police officer, and served as a magistrate, city prosecutor and criminal defense attorney. He authored the book, "A Time to Kill: The Myth of Christian Pacifism," and was a paid consultant for Peltier's defense.

He talked about the Garner case and said three criteria should be met before an officer uses deadly force: ability, opportunity and jeopardy.

Based on his interview with Peltier, a visit to the scene of the crash and a review of police reports and policies, Hopkins said Peltier had a duty to protect himself and other citizens because Williams' car is a deadlier weapon than a gun, Williams had the opportunity to run Peltier over, and Williams indicated he was going to when his backup lights came on.

Hopkins said that based on Peltier's version of events, Williams committed an aggravated assault by bumping Peltier's legs with his Jeep as he tried to flee, and that's a felony.

Williams denied that allegation, and he has never been never charged in the case.

"Even if someone else wouldn't have taken the shot under Garner, in your expert opinion, was it allowable?" asked defense attorney Greg Smith.

"Yes," Hopkins said, calling it a "road rage situation," in which Williams was not functioning rationally.

He said it was Peltier's duty to shoot and to shoot until the threat ended. Peltier, who started as a reserve officer in 2010, was put on administrative leave and then dismissed following the shooting.

Defining a 'real cop'

Under Tennessee law, reserve deputies are afforded the same status as full-time, paid, professional law enforcement officers. They take the same oaths.

But that doesn't mean they are equal in every way.

Willoughby questioned whether reserve deputies are real police officers at all, which didn't sit well with the defense or some in law enforcement. Reserve deputies may also be called on to put their lives on the line, and they do so without pay.

But there are differences in how much training and responsibilities they receive.

The Montgomery County Reserve Deputy program has up to 40 civilians from different walks of life who must apply, pass interviews, and undergo physical and psychological exams.

MCSO spokeswoman Sandra Brandon declined to talk about Peltier's case specifically but said reserve deputies receive 174 hours of initial training, and that includes 40 hours of firearms training and two hours of ethics training before being sworn in. That is followed by 40 hours of annual training, which is the same as what's required for all officers certified by the Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission.

Brandon said the ethics training is not required but something MCSO added.

During their first year on the job, reserve officers typically ride with a "seasoned officer," said MCSO training officer Christopher Olson. After that first year, they usually still ride along with full-time patrol officers, except in some cases such as when transporting mental health patients or on special assignments. Sometimes, they can pair up with another reserve deputy, but they are rarely put on duty on their own.

They are not issued firearms like full-time deputies, but they can buy and carry their own.

Olson said they are trained on the difference between fleeing suspects accused of misdemeanors and those accused of more serious felonies. He said any officer would be justified in shooting a suspect about to run him over, but he would expect those bullet holes to enter the front windshield and not be neatly grouped in the back of a vehicle.

Asked if it's policy to shoot into moving vehicles, unless there is an immediate threat, he said it is best to "try not to."

He declined to say if he thought it was a "good shoot" because he wasn't there and there are many mitigating factors, such as mindset and the way the brain reacts to traumatic events.

MCSO Capt. John Stone, the firearms training officer for deputies and a court-qualified expert in firearms training, said reserve deputies are limited to working 100 hours per month without special permission from the state, or else they have to be hired full-time and sent to the police academy.

Asked if that seems to indicate the state has a preference for using full-time, trained deputy, Stoner answered, "I think that's fair."

Williams has filed a lawsuit against Peltier, Montgomery County, the Sheriff's Office and Sheriff John Fuson, claiming they were responsible for Peltier's reckless actions, claiming the department was negligent in their hiring and training of Peltier.

That civil case is still working its way through Circuit Court and seeks at least $18 million in damages.

Reach Reporter Stephanie Ingersoll at singersoll@theleafchronicle.com or 931-245-0267 and on Twitter @StephLeaf